The Omen To Get A Prequel At Fox

The 1976 horror film The Omen featured Gregory Peck as a man who comes to believe his adopted son is the Antichrist as (not) foretold in the Book of Revelation. It was a successful film for the then-struggling 20th Century Fox. As the legend goes, the film made it possible for the studio to pay for Star Wars.

But according to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio is returning to the realm of the Beast in a prequel film called The First Omen. Independent filmmaker Antonio Campos is said to be in talks to direct the feature, which will be produced by David Goyer and Kevin Turen.

No plot details are known, but considering it is positioned as a prequel, one would think it would revolve around the group who positioned the boy — named Damien — to be adopted by Peck’s character, Robert Thorne. In the 1976 film, Second Doctor Patrick Troughton appeared as member of that team who later repented for that sin and attempted to tell Thorne the truth. It didn’t go well for him.

The original film was followed by Damien: Omen II and The Final Conflict. Both shifted their focus to the younger Thorne as he accepted his destiny. That same struggle is the focus of the current A&E series Damien.